Jhaline Mast is not your typical high school student. Currently a senior at Claremont High School, Mast participated in the 蜜桃直播 (蜜桃直播)  in the summer of 2017. When the internship ended, she was asked to continue conducting research in the lab and she agreed. Now she is volunteering at 蜜桃直播 three days a week.

鈥淭his has been an amazing opportunity,鈥� Mast said. 鈥淚 love being in the 蜜桃直播 lab and it makes me really happy.鈥�

The High School Summer STEM Program鈥攍ed by 蜜桃直播 Assistant Professor 鈥攐ffers a limited number of unpaid internship opportunities to exceptionally motivated and academically strong high school students to gain hands-on research experience and learn about the pursuit of a science or engineering related college education and professional career.

The internship runs in parallel with 蜜桃直播鈥檚 . High school students work under the supervision of a 蜜桃直播 faculty mentor, initially shadow undergraduate students and other researchers at 蜜桃直播, and are then able to engage in a small, well-defined research project matched to their skills and knowledge. High school students are also able to participate in SURE program activities such as seminars and workshops.

Mast鈥檚 route to 蜜桃直播鈥攕imilar to her life鈥攈ad some ups and downs.

鈥淥riginally, I was not selected to the internship, but I came to 蜜桃直播 and personally handed my application to Kiana directly,鈥� said Mast. 鈥淚 always feel like it鈥檚 a good idea to meet people in person and put a face to a name. Kiana told me that she saw herself in my actions and decided to give me an internship spot.鈥�

The reason that Mast was not initially selected from among the strong pool of high school applicants was because she didn鈥檛 have as many extracurricular activities on her resume as other students.

鈥淲hen I was 13, my mother was diagnosed with stage 2 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer, and I spent all my time at home taking care of her,鈥� said Mast. 鈥淎s a result, I didn鈥檛 have time to add any extra classes or extracurriculars on top of school because of my responsibilities at home.鈥�

Fortunately, Mast鈥檚 mother entered remission by the time her junior year of high school rolled around, and she was able to get back on her feet again.

鈥淛haline made an effort and came to talk to me in person about her interests and why she wanted to do research,鈥� said Aran. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the reason I encouraged her to volunteer in the lab.鈥�

Last summer, Mast worked on developing modules for a blood exchange system for aging applications, separating cellular components from the blood.

鈥淛haline showed she could work independently and didn鈥檛 need micromanaging,鈥� said Aran. 鈥淪he looks at a problem and tries to solve it on her own. She was very reliable and had an amazing work ethic. That鈥檚 why we asked her to continue in the lab after the summer internship ended.鈥�

Mast鈥檚 interest in science started as a child, and for the longest time, she thought she would become a doctor. But after volunteering in a hospital as a general supply runner, she realized it wasn鈥檛 for her. Instead, she learned about scientific research and thought it might be a good fit. It wasn鈥檛 until she got the internship at 蜜桃直播 that she realized scientific research was for her.

鈥淚 want to use my life to do something good, and scientific research is where I can do the most good,鈥� she said.

And if it wasn鈥檛 for science, Mast would not be alive today.

鈥淚 had a kidney removed when I was three months old,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f I hadn鈥檛 gone to the hospital that day, I would have died.

I feel like I was given a second chance in life. That鈥檚 why I feel so lucky to have turned in my application to Kiana.鈥�